Key principles celebrated at CLU Kwanzaa event

Cylan Whitt (left) and Kenna Thomas dance in the front row with other performers and guests at the Kwanzaa celebration held at California Lutheran University on Saturday. Desiree Fowlks (back left), a volunteer for NAACP Saturday School, was a part of the festivities.

Special to The Star

Students, teachers and volunteers from the NAACP Saturday School in Ventura County joined students and staff from California Lutheran University on Saturday to celebrate the African-American festival of Kwanzaa.

The cultural holiday began in the African-American community in the U.S. during the late 1960s. Its focus is on family and community.

Saturday's event, held on the university's campus in Thousand Oaks, was open to the public. Anrique Freeman of Simi Valley brought along his three sons, ages 6, 8 and 11.

"We grew up in a traditional family on the East Coast where we always celebrated Kwanzaa, and since our kids were born in California and we don't have all the family here that we have back home, we just wanted them to understand what Kwanzaa is about and what it means to the family," he said.

"When you really start looking at the principles, they are things that basically can sculpt who you are as a person and how you conduct yourself day to day," Freeman said.

Mariana and Kent Christenson of Thousand Oaks saw a poster for the event and decided to come and take part.

"They're good principles for everyone," said Kent Christensen, who's lived in the Conejo Valley since the 1960s.

"It's very, very interesting," said Mariana Christenson, who is originally from Ecuador. "I think it's a great program."

The festival's name is from the Swahili phrase "matunda ya kwanza" (first fruits). It is typically celebrated Dec. 26 to Jan. 1.

The centerpiece of Saturday's event was the lighting of seven candles representing the seven principles of Kwanzaa and a traditional libation ceremony in which the names of loved ones and community leaders who have died were read aloud, and those present drank a toast to their ancestors.

Saturday's event included a potluck lunch, several African-American arts and crafts vendors, and live music.

The festival was presented as part of the activities of the Saturday School of the Ventura County branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, which meets weekly on the private university's campus.

Founded in 1990, the NAACP Saturday School provides a place for African-American children living in Ventura County to learn about their cultural heritage and history as well as receive educational support and enrichment.

During the Kwanzaa celebration, seven of the Saturday School's students received certificates for their work during the past semester. Among them was Ranesha Harkness of Moorpark.

"Saturday School is a big part of me, and it teaches you about your history and it's just really fun," said Ranesha, 12.

Her mother, Constance Harkness, said Kwanzaa is a part of the history of the African-American community, and it's important for children to learn about it and understand it.

Saturday's celebration was sponsored by the Afro-Centric Committee of Ventura County, CLU's Black Student Union and the university's Office of Multicultural Programs.

Juanita Hall, the university's senior director of multicultural and international programs, said the principles of Kwanzaa are something the university can embrace.

"Cooperative economics and unity and faith are things we can buy into as a university and we feel like they are good principles," Hall said.